


I'll Be Home

by bavariansugarcookie



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anal Play, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Bisexual Archie Andrews, Demisexual Jughead Jones, Don't copy this to another site, Don't worry everyone will be fine, Established Betty Cooper/Veronica Lodge, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soft boys being soft, health scare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-09-19 22:04:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17010069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bavariansugarcookie/pseuds/bavariansugarcookie
Summary: A health scare brings Jughead home from grad school for an early Christmas break, which means he and Archie might *finally* have to deal with their feelings for each other. If they can get up the nerve.





	1. A Change of Plans

Jughead checked his phone as he left his advisor meeting when he saw a voicemail from Archie. His heart beat kicked up a notch, but it was probably nothing, he told himself firmly. Archie had hinted about big news, so it was probably just an update.

He dialed his voicemail code and heard Archie’s voice, strained and tired. “Hey Jughead, I’ve got bad news. Dad’s in the hospital. They're still running tests and they haven’t told me anything yet. I just wanted to tell you before you saw it on facebook or something.”

Suddenly another voice echoed in the background, and Archie said faintly, “Yeah, hold on just a sec.” Then, louder, “Juggie, I know you’re busy, but… could you call me when you get this? Thanks.”

And then the automatic voicemail voice asked if he wanted to delete the message or not.

Jughead turned around and went straight to his advisor’s office. He knocked on the door as he popped his head in. “Hey, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to change some things. I just got a call about a family emergency, so I won’t be able to get that draft in before Christmas break.”

“Of course,” Dr. Stevens said, but Dr. Stark frowned.

“Is it your sister?” he asked.

“No, it’s my best friend’s dad, basically my second dad,” Jughead said, adjusting the strap of his bag.

“I don’t see how that’s a family emergency,” Dr. Stark said, and Dr. Stevens gasped.

“Really, David, you are so insensitive.”

“If it’s a family emergency, it should be for family,” Dr. Stark insisted. “What about his TA responsibilities?”

Jughead clenched his jaw. He wasn’t about to explain to this jerk how much of a father Fred Andrews had been for him.

“Look, I’ll bring my grading with me. I’ll probably be stuck in waiting rooms, so it’ll give me something to do.” Dr. Stark opened his mouth to protest, but Jughead cut him off. “Christmas break is next week, so all the final projects have already been handed in. I’ll be checking my email. You can flunk me or whatever, but I’m going either way.”

“That should be fine, Jughead,” Dr. Stevens said, glaring at Dr. Stark. She smiled up at Jughead sympathetically. “I hope your friend recovers quickly.”

“Thanks,” Jughead said, making a speedy exit before Dr. Stark could say anything else stupid.

He dialed Katie as he walked down the hallway. “Hey, Jughead, what’s up?” she asked.

“Actually, I’m headed home for Christmas early, family emergency, so you’ll be leading the editorial meeting tomorrow.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry! Are you ok?”

“I’ll be ok,” Jughead said, willing himself to believe it. “I just wanted to give you the head’s up that I won’t be there tomorrow.”

“Ok,” Katie said, a nervous hitch in her voice.

“Listen,” Jughead said, ducking past an undergrad who was playing frisbee a little too enthusiastically on the quad. “You’re the editor in chief, I’m just the TA advisor. You’ve got this. Just don’t let Peter talk the whole time and you’ll be golden.”

Katie laughed. “Ok, will do. I hope things go well at home!”

“Me too,” Jughead said. “See you later, Katie.”

And then he called Archie.

“Hey Juggie, thanks for calling me back,” Archie said, his voice full of relief.

“Of course,” Jughead said. “How’s your dad, any news?”

Archie sighed. “Not yet. They think it's his appendix or his gallbladder, but we're still waiting on the CAT scan results. I’ll let you know when I hear something new.”

“Well, listen, I’m headed to my apartment now, and I’ll leave for Riverdale as soon as I pack,” Jughead said, fumbling for his keys to unlock the car.

“Oh Juggie, you don’t have to bail on school, I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Archie said.

“Don’t worry about it, I already worked it out,” Jughead said, sliding into his seat and fumbling with the seatbelt. “Just sit tight and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Archie sighed. “Thanks, Juggie. It means a lot.”

Jughead coughed to clear the lump that was suddenly in his throat. “Yeah, of course. See you soon.”

He hung up and drove to his apartment. He threw a weeks’ worth of clothes into a bag, and then packed all the tests and essays he needed to grade, plus his laptop. Philip was at the lab, which was usually a benefit to having a roommate writing a dissertation on thin films, but now Jughead couldn’t ask what time Pickles needed to be fed.

To be on the safe side, he scooped some wet food for Pickles (while trying not to gag) and left a note. _Leaving for break early. Family emergency. Fed Pickles at 1 pm._

He gave Pickles one last scratch behind the ears. “You be nice for Philip, ok? No lying about not being fed.” She purred up at him innocently. “I know, wishful thinking. Wish me luck, ok?”

And then he was out the door.

He stopped for gas and a cup of coffee before turning onto US-11 and heading north. It was just over a 2 hour drive, but he drove fast enough that he got there in under 2. He saw a Starbucks on the outskirts of town by the highway. _Riverdale’s hitting the big time now_ , he thought as he pulled over to get more coffee. He came out with 2 peppermint mochas, one venti and one grande.

He texted Archie that he was on his way to the hospital and headed over. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and carried in the coffees and to his surprise, saw Archie waiting for him in the lobby. “Hey Juggie!” he said, standing up and throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Thanks for coming!”

“Like I wasn’t going to come,” Jughead said. “How’s your dad?”

Archie’s shoulders slumped. “Still the same. I’ve just been waiting.”

“Well let’s hope no news is good news,” Jughead said, handing him the venti coffee so he could sign the sign-in sheet. “I hope you still like peppermint mochas, I figured you would need the caffeine.”

“Yes, thank you, you’re a lifesaver!” Archie said. “I forgot how terrible hospital coffee is.”

“Oh yeah, there’s not enough sugar in the world to make it taste decent,” Jughead said, earning him a glare from the receptionist.

“I think she makes the coffee,” Archie whispered with a grin. “Maybe we should go.”

“Yep,” Jughead said, and they both made a run for the elevator.

As the elevator door closed, Archie pointed at Jughead’s cup. “Cutting back on caffeine?”

Jughead laughed. “The opposite, actually. I had gas station coffee on the drive up here, so if I got a venti at Starbucks I’m pretty sure I’d never sleep again.”

Archie laughed too, and it felt nice. Jughead could almost forget that he was in the hospital to see Fred, could almost ignore the tension that grew every time he saw Archie, the longing and the what ifs. Almost.

The elevator chimed that they’d reached the third floor, and Archie looked over as the doors slid open. “By the way, Juggie, I like your glasses.”

Jughead’s stomach flipped. “Thanks,” he said, as he followed Archie out of the elevator and down the hall.

The hallway lead to an austere waiting room, with a massive TV showing interviews about stores prepping for Christmas Eve shopping. “They haven’t assigned Dad a room yet, but I wanted to wait downstairs for you so they wouldn’t give you a hard time at the front desk.”

“Thanks. I’m pretty sure I’m on the receptionist’s shit list now,” Jughead said, sitting down next to Archie and putting his drink on the side table so he could rummage through his backpack. “Is it ok if I grade some tests?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Archie said, his eyebrows rising higher and higher with each stack of paper Jughead pulled out of the backpack. “Holy shit, Jug, I didn’t think you’d have to bring so much work down…”

Jughead shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I promised my advisors I’d get the grading done at least.” Archie frowned and Jughead pointed his green pen at him. “You’re not allowed to feel guilty about this, Archie Andrews.”

Archie sighed. “Ok. I just feel bad, you’re so busy…”

Jughead shrugged. “I’d be busy whether I was with you or back in Syracuse. And I’d rather be here with you.”

Archie smiled weakly. “Thanks Juggie. I’m glad you're here.”

Jughead smiled. “Me too.”

Jughead was grading his third essay when a stern-looking nurse came in. “Archie Andrews?”

Archie jumped out of his seat. “That’s me. How’s my dad?”

“It looks like it's his appendix, so we're prepping him for surgery now.”

“Ok, that’s good, right? They caught it before it burst?” Archie asked, and the nurse’s face softened.

“Yes, luckily we caught it in time so they can get it out before it ruptures.”

“Can we see him?” Jughead asked.

“Yes, he might be drowsy, but you can come with me. You’ll have a few minutes before he has to go back,” she said.

Jughead shoved his papers into his backpack and hurried after them.

Fred was lying in the hospital bed, looking pale and fragile, but he smiled and waved when the boys came in. “Hey Archie, hey Jughead.”

Archie came and stood by the head of the bed, “Hey Dad, how are you feeling?”

“Ok. They must have given me pain meds, cause I feel a little better.” He reached out and put his hand that wasn’t hooked up to the IV over Archie’s. “Don’t worry about me. It’ll take more than an appendix to knock me out of commission.”

Archie smiled weakly. “I know, Dad,” he said hoarsely.

Fred looked over at Jughead. “Thanks for coming, son, I know it made things a lot easier for Archie.” He raised his eyebrows. “Solved any murders down at Syracuse lately?”

“Not yet,” Jughead said, smiling despite himself. “We did get a football coach fired for hazing the players though.”

Fred smiled. “That’s my boy.” He yawned. “Did Arch tell you his big news?”

Jughead looked over at Archie, “No, he said he had news, but he hadn’t told me yet.”

“I didn’t get a chance earlier,” Archie said, turning bright red.

“He’s opening for Josie and the Pussy Cats when they go on tour,” Fred said proudly.

“Oh my God, Archie, that’s amazing!” Jughead said, putting his hand on Archie’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m excited!” Archie said, but he looked worried. Jughead frowned, confused, but Archie mouthed “Later.”

They stayed and chatted until Fred started yawning in earnest, and the nurse came in. “Alright, they’re ready for you, Mr. Andrews.”

“Alright,” Archie said, standing up and putting his hand on Fred’s arm. “See you in a little bit, Dad.”

“Alright, Arch,” Fred said. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Archie said, his voice cracking slightly.

“See you later, Mr. Andrews,” Jughead murmured. Fred nodded and closed his eyes as the nursed wheeled him toward the operating room. Another nurse lead them both down the hallway toward the waiting room.

Jughead pulled out his papers again, and they waited… and waited… and waited. Finally the surgeon came out, still in his scrubs.

“Mr. Andrews?”

Archie jumped up. “That’s me.”

“Everything went off without a hitch. Your Dad’s resting in his room, but he’ll be a little groggy from the anaesthesia for a while.”

“Great, thank you so much,” Archie said.

“You’re welcome. Bethany can take you to his room.” He nodded toward one of the nurses with curly black hair.

Bethany smiled over her shoulder as she led them down the hallway. “Your dad should be home before Christmas, but he will be pretty sore, so he’ll need some help getting around for a little while.”

She knocked on the door and poked her head in. “Fred? Your boys are here.” She checked her watch. “Visitor hours end in about an hour, but you can come back tomorrow.”

“Great. Thanks, Bethany,” Archie said, and she nodded and closed the door.

Archie went and sat down by the bed. “Hey Dad, how’re you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Fred said. “They aren’t kidding about anaesthesia being the best sleep of your life, I was out like a _light_.”

“Oh yeah, remember when Jughead got his appendix out and he freaked out all the nurses because he didn’t want to wake up?” Archie said, grinning up at Jughead.

Jughead threw his hands up in protest. “It wasn’t _my_ fault. I was tired!”

“Some things never change,” Fred laughed, and then winced.

“You ok?” Archie asked anxiously.

“Yep, just, forgot I’m all stitched up for a second.” Fred said. “I don’t feel too sore now, but according to the doctor I’ll really feel it tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that. It was the worst.” Jughead cringed. “But I mean you’ll feel better in a couple days?”

Fred winked. “Nice save.”

They stayed and chatted for a little while until Bethany came back to tell them it was time to head out for the night.

“See you tomorrow, Dad,” Archie said, patting his Dad’s arm.

“Night, boys,” he said, already starting to doze off.

As soon as he passed through the automatic doors, Archie sighed. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

“You know me, I’m always hungry,” Jughead said and Archie smirked.

“Is it ok if we get a pizza or something? I don’t think I can face seeing everybody at Pop’s tonight.”

“Sure,” Jughead said. “I can pick one up and meet you at your place if you want.”

Archie paused. “Maybe we should go to my Dad’s place. I only have the one bedroom, but at my Dad’s you’d at least have a bed.”

“Sure,” Jughead said. “Whatever works best for you.”

“That would be great,” Archie said, relieved. “I’ll see you there.”

“See ya in a bit,” Jughead said, heading to his car.

Apparently Joe’s Pizzas was closed for renovations, so Jughead headed to a new hipster pizza place called That’s Amore. They had pizzas named after all the Rat Pack members, and Jughead picked the Sinatra - a classic margherita, and the Dean Martin - red onion, bell pepper, capicola, and basil.

It smelled so good that the drive to Archie’s was torture, but in record time he was pulling into the familiar driveway. He climbed up the back steps and knocked on the back door.

Archie opened the door and smiled and Jughead’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt a little self conscious about the heart-shaped pizzas printed all over the pizza boxes. But Archie just said, “I’ve been meaning to try that place!” and held the door open for Jughead to walk in.

They were both so hungry they didn’t even bother with plates, just standing around the kitchen table eating. “This is so good,” Archie said, mouth full, and Jughead nodded.

After they were done, Jughead moved all the leftovers to one box and put it in the fridge while Archie pulled out glasses. “There are some root beers in the fridge if you want one,” he called over his shoulder, and Jughead smiled.

“Just like old times, huh?”

“Yeah,” Archie said, but his smile faded a little.

Jughead handed him the root beer bottle. “So, what were you going to tell me? About the tour?”

Archie sighed and popped open the seal. “I was supposed to leave next week to meet up with the band in DC. But now Dad’s going to be in the hospital for at least a few days, so I’m gonna have to cancel.”

“Oh man, Arch, that sucks!” Jughead said. “I’m really sorry.”

Archie shrugged and took a sip. “It’s ok. I talked to Josie, and depending on how Dad’s doing I’ll join them later in the tour. I just haven’t told him yet, cause he’ll be so disappointed.” Archie’s voice broke a little, and Jughead’s heart ached.

He reached for Archie’s shoulder. “Archie, it’s ok to be upset,” he said softly. Archie bit his lip, his eyes brimming with tears.

“I got the call that he’d gone to the hospital with chest pains, and I was so terrified. And then I got to the hospital and he was so pale…” His voice gave out and he covered his face with his hands. Jughead pulled him into a hug and Archie relaxed in his arms with a sob. Jughead slowly traced up and down his back with his fingers.

After a minute Archie took a deep breath and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Jughead said, and realized his hands were still resting at Archie’s waist. He dropped his hands and leaned against the stove, still within arms reach.

Archie gave him a watery smile. “Thanks for coming, Juggie. I seriously don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.”

Jughead nudged him with his elbow. “Hey, you’re welcome,” he said softly.

Archie blew out a sigh. “Do you wanna head to bed now?” Jughead asked.

Archie shook his head. “I think I’m too wired to sleep. Can we watch TV or something? You can get some grading done.”

“Sure, that’d be great,” Jughead said.

They sat on the couch and Archie turned on a football game while Jughead pulled out more essays to grade. A few minutes later Archie’s head started to nod, and eventually he fell asleep with his head on Jughead’s shoulder.

Jughead smiled to himself, staying as still as possible so he wouldn’t wake Archie up, but when he graded the last paper in his stack it was 11:30. He yawned and gently shook Archie’s arm. “Hey Arch, it’s getting late. You should head to bed.”

Archie jolted awake, and realized he was leaning on Jughead. “Sorry, Juggie,” he said, blushing. “You should’ve woken me up.”

Jughead shrugged. “It’s fine, it seemed like you need the sleep.”

“Well, I hope I didn’t drool on you or anything,” Archie said, turning even redder.

“You’re fine, I’m drool free,” Jughead said, holding out his arms as evidence. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

Archie insisted on carrying his bag up the stairs, and opened the guest room door. “Sorry it’s a little messy,” he said. “But I put clean sheets on the bed while you were getting the pizza.”

Jughead smiled. “It’s great, Archie, seriously.”

Archie smiled back at him, and for a split second Jughead was hit with the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss him.

Luckily before he could do anything crazy, Archie nudged his arm. “I’ll let you get settled. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Will do,” Jughead said. “Goodnight, Archie.”

“Goodnight.” Archie looked at him for a second, his face unreadable, and then he turned and walked down the hall.

Jughead closed the door and collapsed on the bed. “Archie’s your friend,” he told himself sternly. “Your straight friend. It’s never going to happen.” He got up and stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. He couldn’t help but wonder if Archie was asleep yet, or lying awake like he was.


	2. A Horse in the Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How is Archie dealing with his pent-up feelings for Jughead? Spoiler alert: not super well!

Archie woke up to the sound of his alarm. He rolled over and felt around the bedside table until he finally found it and turned it off. 

He checked his notifications, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw there were no missed calls from the hospital. He scrolled through his texts, sending replies to Betty and Veronica, of course, and some of his Dad’s friends. Nothing from his Mom. Typical.

He sighed, and then he caught the scent of coffee.  _ Thank God for Jughead _ , he thought as he climbed out of bed and pulled some lounge pants and a t-shirt out of his drawer.

He followed the siren song of coffee down the stairs and into the kitchen, and stopped in his tracks. Jughead was standing at the counter, wearing his glasses and an undershirt that showed off the tattoo wrapping across his shoulder and green plaid lounge pants. The sunlight streaming through the kitchen window left a golden glow around his curls. 

Archie wanted to wrap his arm around Jughead’s waist, kiss the back of his neck, while his fingers skimmed the waistband of his pants...

Instead, he went to the cabinet to pull out a mug. “Hey Juggie, thanks for the coffee.”

Jughead looked up and smiled softly. “No problem. Breakfast will be ready in a second.”

“There’s breakfast too?” Archie asked, stirring creamer and sugar into his coffee. 

“Yeah, French toast,” Jughead said. He turned toward the stove and opened the oven door, letting out a wave of cinnamon air. 

Archie grabbed plates and forks and then dug around in the pantry for the maple syrup as Jughead dished up the french toast.

“Better not let the Blossoms see you with this,” Jughead joked, pointing at the bottle of fake maple syrup in Archie’s hand.

“I know, we’ll get run out of town,” Archie said with a grin.

Jughead passed over a plate of French toast and Archie drizzled maple syrup over it before passing the bottle to Jughead. Archie took a bite and his eyes widened. “Oh my God, Juggie, this is great!”

“Thanks,” Jughead said, looking pleased. 

“I didn’t even know my Dad had cinnamon,” Archie said around a mouthful of French toast. 

Jughead laughed. “I found some pumpkin spice in the back of the cabinet. I’m pretty sure it’s from that pumpkin pie we made for Friendsgiving freshman year.”

Archie laughed. “The one that turned green?” 

“Yeah,” Jughead said. “Betty still hasn’t let me live that down.”

“That’s not fair,” Archie said. “The recipe never said  _ not  _ to put foil over it if it was still hot.”

“Yeah, you’d think they’d have that written down somewhere,” Jughead said with a smirk.

Archie took another bite of French toast. “Maybe we should make another. Prove we can make a pie that’s not gross.”

“It didn’t  _ taste  _ gross. It just  _ looked  _ gross,” Jughead protested.

“Does it really matter if everyone’s too scared to eat it?” Archie asked and Jughead laughed.

“I guess not.” He took a sip of his coffee and glanced at the clock. “I was thinking, I’ll hit the shower in a minute and then after you shower we can head to the hospital.”

Archie took a sip of coffee, and definitely didn’t imagine joining Jughead in the shower. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

“Cool,” Jughead said, and then he started shoveling down French toast like he hadn’t seen food in weeks.

“Dude, slow down, you’re gonna make yourself sick,” Archie said.

Jughead rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine, Mom.” But then he smiled and Archie felt those butterflies he always got whenever Jughead was around. 

Jughead rinsed his plate and put it in the dishwasher, along with the skillet. “Alright, I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Ok, sounds great,” Archie said. He could hear Jughead jog up the stairs and he buried his head in his hands.  _ Pull yourself together, Andrews _ , he told himself.  _ You can’t spend the rest of the week pining over your best friend. _

But the way his heart thudded in his chest when Jughead smiled at him in the hallway showed it had no intention of listening to his voice of reason.

They rode to the hospital in Archie’s pick up, just like old times.

The anxiety hit Archie the second he walked through the sliding doors. He bounced on the balls of his feet as they waited for the elevator, suddenly afraid that something had changed during the night.

But the nurse at the reception desk just smiled and pointed toward his Dad’s room when they got to the third floor. Dad seemed happier, more alert this morning. The nurse gave them the updates -- everything looked good, and the doctor was confident he could go home before Christmas. “Hopefully we’ll get him up and moving for a lap around the floor later today,” she said, patting his knee. 

Dad raised his eyebrows at Archie. “It’ll be quite the production,” he said, looking around at the IV and the heart rate monitor. 

“We can make it a parade,” Jughead says, earning a laugh from Dad and Archie and the nurse. Jughead grinned at Archie and he felt a flash of affection. Leave it to Jughead to say the right thing. 

They found a James Bond marathon on TV and watched it while Jughead graded papers. They debated who was the best Bond -- Archie and Jughead voted for Daniel Craig, but Dad said Sean Connery. “He wasn’t an example of how to treat a lady,” Dad said, “But he did have the international man of mystery act down.”

“Well it’s the 21st century, hopefully nobody’s using Bond as a relationship guide,” Archie said.

Jughead grimaced. “According to the internet, you might be out of luck. But I’ve heard Idris Elba might play Bond in the next one, and I think he’d be pretty good.”

“Who’s that?” Dad asked.

“He’s Heimdall from Thor,” Archie said. 

“Huh,” Dad said. “He's a little skinny for that, isn't he?”

Archie and Jughead shot confused glances at each other. “Huh?”

“Isn't he the pale, skinny guy who needs a haircut?”

“Oh you're thinking of Loki,” Archie said with a laugh. “We're talking about Heimdall - the guy with the big sword and the glowing yellow eyes.”

“Ohhhh,” Dad nodded. “Yeah, he’d be pretty good.”

After lunch, Dad dozed off during the credits for  _ From Russia with Love _ . Jughead was steadily working through his paper mountain when Bethany came in, looking stressed.

“Mr. Andrews?” she whispered. “There’s a Mr. Jones here to visit your father, and he’s not on the visitors list, so we didn’t let him come up. But he’s very insistent…”

Jughead’s lips pressed into a thin line. “It’s my Dad,” he said grimly. “I’ll go talk to him.”

He stood up, and Archie jumped up too. “I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks,” Jughead mumbled, heading to the door.

“If my dad wakes up, can you tell him I’ll be right back?” Archie asked. Bethany nodded, and Archie walked out after Jughead.

FP was arguing with the receptionist when they reached the lobby. “Hi Dad,” Jughead said flatly.

FP turned, shocked. “Heya Jughead,” he said, reaching out to hug him. “You didn’t tell me you were in town.”

Jughead hugged him back stiffly. “I drove down last night when Archie called me,” he said quietly. 

“I’m always the last to know,” FP said, shaking his head. He looked back at the receptionist. “Can you believe they didn’t want to let me see Fred?”

“There are only a couple people on the list, Dad,” Jughead said. “Fred’s here to get better, he can’t have a bunch of people in the hospital room.”

FP gaped at him. “You mean you’re not going to let me come up?”

Jughead took his elbow. “Dad, can we talk about this outside?”

“I can’t believe it,” FP protested as Jughead steered him toward the doors.

“Well no offense, Dad, but you usually end up arguing with Fred, and I don’t think that would be super great after they cut him open yesterday,” Jughead said, folding his arms across his chest. 

FP looked up at Jughead, and Archie suddenly realized how much taller Jughead was than FP now. “Ok then,” FP said, with an attempt at his old bravado. “You just let him know I came by, ok?”

Jughead nodded. FP patted his shoulder. “It’s good to see you,” he said thickly. “I thought your article about that asshole coach was good.”

“You read it?” Jughead asked, his voice cracking.

“Yeah, I read all your stuff,” FP said. “You keep on writing, Jughead, you always were good at that.”

Jughead looked down at his shoes. “Thanks, Dad.”

FP pulled him in for one last hug before he waved at Archie. “See you later, boys.”

Jughead watched him leave, and Archie came up and nudged his arm. “I’m sorry, Juggie.”

Jughead shook his head and looked back at Archie. “It’s ok.” Archie gave him a look and Jughead’s shoulders slumped. “It’s just every time I think I’ve moved past it, I get pulled right back in. And I feel like it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” Archie said, putting his hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “Your dad’s an adult who made bad decisions.” He tilted his head so he could look Jughead in the eye. “You’re not allowed to feel guilty about this, Jughead Jones.”

Jughead smiled weakly. “No fair. Using what I said against me is a cheap shot,” he said.

“Doesn’t make it less true,” Archie said gently. 

Jughead sighed. “I guess we’d better get back before your Dad wakes up,” he said.

“Ok,” Archie said, walking with him back through the lobby. They got back in the elevator and Jughead bumped Archie’s arm with his elbow.

“Thanks for coming with me,” Jughead said.

“Yeah, of course,” Archie said.

“At least we caught him  _ before _ he went on a rampage through the hospital,” Jughead said, deadpan. 

“There’s a HORSE LOOSE in the hospital,” Archie said in his best John Mulvaney voice to make Jughead laugh. “Hey, at least he came. My mom hasn’t even answered my text to ask how Dad is.”

“Seriously?” Jughead said as the elevator doors slid open. “That sucks!”

“Yeah,” Archie said with a shrug. It was Jughead’s turn to raise a skeptical eyebrow. Archie sighed. “I don’t know what I was expecting at this point. She's probably traveling out of cell phone range or something.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Jughead said, but Archie could tell he didn’t believe it either.

Luckily Dad was still asleep when they got back up to the room. 

Jughead's phone buzzed and he laughed when he saw the text. “Look at this asshole,” he said, holding the phone out. It was a picture of Pickles sitting guiltily next to a pile of toppled books. “Philip caught her in the act.”

“Oh I meant to ask yesterday, how're Phillip and Pickles?” Archie asked. 

“They're good. Philip's super busy with his project, so Pickles has decided that I'm now the primary food giver. Look at this,” Jughead said, pulling up a video on his phone. “This is 45 minutes  _ after  _ I gave her dinner.”

Archie watched the video of Pickles following Jughead around the apartment, meowing at the top of her lungs. “She's basically you in cat form,” Archie said with a grin.

Jughead stuck his tongue out at him. “Very funny, Andrews.”

The Jughead in the video called, “Phillip, come deal with your demon cat!”

Dad stirred, and Archie looked up. “Is there a cat in here?” Dad asked.

Jughead turned off the video guiltily. “No, just a video of my roommate’s stupid cat. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“It’s ok,” Dad said, yawning and stretching as far as the IV cord would let him. “Oooh, Dr. No’s starting.” 

A few minutes later a new nurse walked in, “Oh good, you’re awake,” she said. “I’m Janelle, and Bethany told me that y’all were hoping to have a parade today.”

She unhooked him from the heart rate monitor and untangled the IV chord. Once she raised the bed, Archie helped her maneuver Fred out of bed. He winced as he finally stood up. 

“I know it's not fun, but it'll really help your recovery time if you make sure you stay active,” Janelle said, lifting the IV chord over his head.

“Dad runs a construction company, so he’s already pretty active,” Archie said.

“Well…” Dad said, and Archie turned and looked at him, surprised. “I hurt my knee a month ago, so I haven’t been on my feet as much as I used to be.”

“Dad!” Archie said, exasperated. ‘You didn’t tell me that!”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Dad protested and Archie took a deep, slow breath. 

“Ok, well you need to tell me these things when they happen, even if you don’t think it’s a big deal.”

Dad looked sheepish. “Alright son, I’m sorry.”

Janelle smiled. “Ok, are we ready?”

Dad raised his eyebrows. “As much as I'll ever be.” He waved Archie over. “Make sure my ass isn't showing to everyone on the floor, will ya?” he whispered.

“Will do,” Archie said.

“I'll get the IV bag,” Jughead said, and together they all trooped out of the room.

“This is a terrible idea,” Dad grumbled, but they managed to make it around the floor twice before Dad called it a day.

They got him situated in bed again, and Janelle left. Dad turned Dr. No. back on and Jughead pulled out more papers to grade. 

Suddenly both of their phones chimed, and Jughead checked it. “Betty and Veronica are getting into town tonight,” he said. “They were wondering if we’d want to get dinner with them at Pop’s.” 

“I don’t know…” Archie said, but Dad frowned.

“No, no, you boys go. You should do something fun since you’ve been keeping me company all day.”

“You sure?” Archie asked, feeling guilty. 

“Yes,” Dad said firmly. 

Archie checked the clock. “Well we’ve got an hour before visiting hours are over, so we’ll head out after that.” He looked over at Jughead. “That ok, Juggie?”

“Yep, I’ll let Betty know,” he said, already typing away on his phone. 

They headed out halfway through GoldenEye, and Archie’s spirits lifted as soon as he turned onto the familiar road to Pop’s. 

The girls were already waiting for them, and they jumped out of the booth and ran up for hugs. “How's your dad?” Betty asked. 

“He's doing ok, the doctor thinks he'll be out of the hospital before Christmas,” Archie said. 

“Oh good, I'm so glad!” Betty said, throwing her arms around his shoulders again. “It must've been so stressful!” Archie caught a flash of sparkle as she pulled away. “Betty, is that --”

She blushed. “We didn't want to make a big deal about it, with your dad in the hospital and everything, but…” She held up her left hand, showing off a ring with black and white diamonds. “We’re engaged!” 

“Oh my God! Congratulations!” Archie exclaimed, throwing his arms around her again.

He turned and hugged Veronica. “Where’s your ring, I wanna see?”

She smiled and held up her hand, showing more black and white diamonds. “Oh they match!” Archie said.

“Yeah, I picked a ring with a black diamond like one Betty had pinned, and it turns out she picked it cause she thought  _ I'd  _ like it.”

“Well, 99% of your closet is black,” Betty teased.

“True. I mean - I  _ am  _ a New Yorker,” Veronica said with a grin. 

“So have you picked a date yet?” Jughead asked as they all slid into the booth. 

“Not yet, we’re thinking next fall maybe?” Veronica said.

“We wanted a small destination wedding,” Betty chimed in. “Since it’ll give my Mom less of a chance to try to run the show.”

“Smart,” Archie and Jughead said simultaneously, and the girls laughed.

Jenny walked over to their table and took their order. “Nice to see you,” she said to Jughead and the girls. “Him I see all the time,” she waved at Archie.

“Aww come on Jenny, you’re breaking my heart,” Archie said with a grin, and she winked.

“You tell your Dad I better see him back here the second he’s feeling better, alright?”

Archie nodded, his throat suddenly tight. Jenny patted his shoulder and walked back to the kitchen. There was a strained silence, until Archie cleared his throat. “So, where were you thinking about getting married?”

“We haven’t picked anything for sure yet. Maybe Paris? Or Morocco? We're probably only inviting a few people, including you both, obviously,” Veronica said. Jughead bit his lip and Archie knew he was wondering how he was going to pay for the plane ticket. 

Veronica noticed too, and she said, “Betty and I were thinking about renting a house for everyone to stay, so nobody has to deal with booking a hotel. And we can fly down on my plane.”

“Since when do you have a  _ plane _ ?” Jughead asked, flabbergasted.

“Since I found out my Dad signed it over to me so the feds couldn't seize it when he got arrested,” Veronica said, trying to sound casual, but not quite succeeding.

Archie's eyebrows shot up. “Damn! And you just found out?”

Veronica took a sip of water. “Yep. Turns out I shouldn't have trusted Dad's accountant to do my books.”

“Yikes, I’m sorry,” Archie said.

“Don't worry, my dad won't be looking to pull another fast one on me any time soon,” Veronica said.

Jughead rested his chin on his hand. “I was just thinking, didn’t I read about you selling your Lodge Industries stocks recently?”

Veronica laughed, “I didn't sell  _ all  _ of them - just enough to bump the stock price down and make the investors nervous.”

Archie gave a low whistle. “Remind me to stay on your good side, Ronnie.”

Veronica winked at him. “I asked the board to give me more responsibility - I've been listed as a partner ever since my dad got arrested - but they just laughed at me. So I decided to start my own architecture firm.” She shrugged. “And I needed the start up money.”

Jughead laughed. “You’re an evil genius, Veronica.”

“What can I say?” She asked with a sly smile. “It runs in the family.”

Betty reached over and squeezed her hand. They shared a small, private smile, and Archie's heart melted a little seeing them so happy.

Jenny came back with their burgers and Veronica groaned as she took a bite. “I’ve missed this,” she said, mouth full.

“Shhh,” Jughead said, eyes closed. “I’m having a religious experience.”

Archie grinned and rolled his eyes at Betty, dipping his french fries in his ketchup. 

After dinner they headed back to Archie’s dad’s house. Archie went into the kitchen to get drinks. “We don’t have champagne, but we do have beer and… beer.” Archie called over his shoulder.

“Beer, please!” Betty said, rummaging around in the drawer for a bottle opener.

“Jughead, do you want one?” Archie said.

“Sure,” he called back from the living room. 

Archie grabbed 4 beers and put them on the counter. 

“So,” Betty said, reaching for the closest bottle. “Are you going to talk to him?”

“Whaddya mean?” Archie said and Betty looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. “I missed you, Bets,” he said with a grin.

She smiled back. “I missed you too. But don’t think flattery is going to distract me,” she said sternly, popping the lid off the beer and reaching for another.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Archie said.

“We both know that’s not true,” Betty said. “You’ve been waiting around for him all these years. What’s the point if you’re never going to talk to him?”

Archie huffed out a sigh. “It’s not that easy.”

Betty sighed. “I know, I remember how scared I was to talk to Veronica.” She passed him a beer. “But you’ll never know if you don’t ask.”

Archie groaned just as Veronica walked in. “What’re we talking about?” Veronica asked.

“Archie’s love life,” Betty said, and Veronica nodded.

“You need to talk to him,” she said in a sing songy voice as she picked up two beers. 

Archie shot a pleading look at Betty, who shrugged. “She’s not wrong,” she said, mimicking Veronica’s singsong voice, grabbing the last two beers and following Veronica into the living room. 

Archie sighed and followed her. 

Jughead turned and smiled up at him as he walked in. “I was wondering where you went,” he said and Archie’s heart ached. 

“Ok, everybody have a beer?” Archie asked. They all raised their bottles. “To Betty and Veronica!”

Everyone clinked bottles. “Cheers!” They all took sips of their beer, and Jughead made a face. “I forgot how much beer sucks.”

Archie clapped his shoulder. “I’ll go grab you a root beer.”

“Thanks,” Jughead said sheepishly.

He caught snippets of the conversation from the kitchen as he pulled out a root beer and popped open the lid.

“Just be glad it’s not champagne,” Veronica said. “I know it’s supposed to be fancy, but it’s honestly terrible. I woke up with the WORST hangover after one of my Dad’s Christmas parties.”

“I can’t do tequila,” Betty said. “There was this one college party, and they had a margarita maker…” 

“Oh God,” Jughead said, and they all laughed. “See, this is why I was always the designated driver in college.”

Archie handed him the root beer. “So, Archiekins, any horror stories?” Veronica asked.

Archie laughed. “Let’s not talk about that.”

“Ummm, yes, let’s!” Betty said.

Archie sighed. “Ok, well, there was a statue of a bulldog outside the football stadium, cause we were the bulldogs…”

“Uh huh?” Veronica said.

“Well, freshman year we had a huge party after we got into the playoffs  and I woke up the next morning with the bulldog in my room.”

Jughead choked on his root beer and the girls howled laughing.

“How did you get it into your room without anyone seeing you?” Betty asked.

“I really have no idea, cause it weighed about a million pounds,” Archie said. “There were notices all over campus and the dean made a big announcement about it. So that night we just smuggled it back.”

Veronica’s eyebrows rose. “And nobody found out it was you?”

“No. Although it kind of became a campus tradition to decorate the bulldog before every home game. I think they still do it.”

Jughead smirked. “Only Archie could accidentally start a campus tradition.”

Betty laughed. “I do think you win the craziest hangover surprise story.”

Archie bowed, and the others clapped.

Jughead started telling a story about the cat and kittens he and his roommate hid in their room for a month and Archie smiled softly. He could feel Betty and Veronica giving him significant looks, but he ignored them. 

Maybe they were right. Jughead would be done with grad school in a few months. Archie had always told himself it wasn’t the right time, but Jughead might not even be in New York next year. Maybe he should finally talk to him. He took a sip of beer. 

Jughead looked at him and grinned, and Archie smiled back, trying to ignore the wave of panic that washed over him. What if he ruined everything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading!! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also, if you're wondering about the green pumpkin pie story, that is a real thing that happened to me! I was running late, threw some foil over it before it was completely cool, and apparently the condensation oxidized the pumpkin. So learn from my mistakes lol XD


	3. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but will Archie and Jughead finally get what they actually want?

Jughead woke up craving a burger from Pop’s but since they weren’t open yet, he went down to the kitchen to make breakfast.

He put the coffee on and a few minutes later Archie stumbled into the kitchen with his hair sticking up everywhere. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Jughead said with a grin, and Archie stuck his tongue out at him. 

“It’s too early to make fun of me,” he groaned theatrically.

“Wow, it’s like you’ve never even met me,” Jughead said, cracking eggs into a bowl and beating them with a fork.

Archie rummaged around in the cabinet until he found the Darth Vader mugs they always fought over as kids until Fred caved and bought a second one. He handed Jughead his coffee and went to the fridge to get creamer for his own. 

“You’re spoiling me, Juggie,” he said, stirring creamer in. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do when you go back to school.”

Jughead smiled a little sadly. “Me either.” He poured the eggs into the pan. “I don’t usually have time to make anything but cereal for breakfast.”

Archie’s phone dinged and he pulled it out and groaned. “Shit, I totally forgot…”

“What?” Jughead asked.

Archie ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up even more. “I’m subleasing my place, cause I was supposed to be leaving for the tour and I completely forgot that I was supposed to move all my stuff out. And Beth just texted me about getting the keys.”

“Oh damn,” Jughead said. “I could help you pack if you need me to.”

Archie looked up. “Oh man, I hate to ask you that…”

“It’s fine,” Jughead said. “You helped me move to Syracuse.”

“That’s true.” Archie, said, grinning. “You do owe me.” Jughead rolled his eyes and Archie laughed. “But seriously, it would help a lot…”

“Cool, let’s do it,” Jughead said. “We can go see your Dad this morning and then move this afternoon?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Archie said. Jughead dished out the eggs and grabbed the toast. They ate quickly and Archie got up and put the dishes in the dishwasher. “I’ll go take a shower real quick,” he said, putting his hand on Jughead’s shoulder as he walked past. 

“Ok,” Jughead said, trying to ignore the electric charge that ran through him at Archie’s touch. Archie left, and Jughead sighed. When he was in Syracuse, he could pretend his feelings for Archie were just remnants of a high school crush, but being around him brought everything back.

He heard the water turn on upstairs and suddenly imagined hot water running down his back, Archie's lips on his, reaching out and pulling Archie closer. 

“Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. He almost sent a mayday text to Betty, but he knew she'd just tell him to talk to Archie about it, and he had no idea how to even start that conversation. 

He didn't know how long he was lost in thought when he heard the shower shut off. He gulped down the last of his now lukewarm coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher. Archie walked into the kitchen, hair still damp, and Jughead forced himself not to stare.

“I'll be out in a second,” he said, ducking out of the kitchen before he completely lost his mind.

Fred was thrilled when they got to his room, because the doctor had given him the ok to go home the next day. 

“I can't wait,” he said with a grin. “I never thought I'd miss my couch so much.”

They did another loop around the hospital floor, and Fred was feeling so much better he actually tried to race Archie back to the room. “Dad, you're literally connected to an IV,” he said with a grin.

“You're no fun,” Fred said, shoving Archie's arm playfully. Archie rolled his eyes at Jughead and Jughead laughed. 

Once they got Fred back to his room Archie cleared his throat. “Hey Dad, Juggie and I were going to pack up my apartment and move my stuff to the house, is that ok?”

“Sure,” Fred said, his eyes lighting up. “That must mean you’re leaving for tour soon, what day are you meeting the girls?”

Archie glanced over at Jughead. “Actually, I’m not joining the tour yet.”

“What?” Fred exclaimed.

“Dad, I can’t just bail on you when you’re in the hospital,” Archie said. “You heard what the doctor said, you’re gonna need some help getting around for the next couple weeks.”

Fred frowned. “Archie, you should’ve told me, I could’ve gotten one of the guys to help me…”

“Dad, it’s fine, really,” Archie said. “I’m gonna take the train down to Atlanta and meet Josie the first weekend in February. It’s no big deal.”

Fred raised his eyebrows skeptically, and Archie said, ‘At least we’ll all get to be together for Christmas?” and Fred laughed.

“That’s true, but you’re going to Atlanta in February. I don’t care if I drop dead.” Fred pointed at Archie for emphasis and Archie rolled his eyes to hide a grin.

“And Ronnie always said  _ I  _ was the dramatic one.” Fred pursed his lips, but he laughed along with Archie and Jughead.

After lunch they drove over to Archie’s apartment and Archie unlocked the door. “I started packing a few days ago, so hopefully this won’t take too long,” he said, flipping through the mail that had piled up in his mailbox.

“So we’re leaving the furniture?” Jughead asked, silently praying the answer was yes.

“Yeah, I told Beth I’d leave the furniture and most of the kitchen stuff,” Archie said, and Jughead breathed a sigh of relief. Archie looked at him with a sly grin. “Were you about to bail on me?”

“No!” Jughead protested. “I just would’ve complained the whole time.”

Archie laughed. “Hell, I might complain the whole time.” 

He looked around the room, taking stock. “Ok, I’ll pack up the guitars in a minute. Do you mind doing the books and the movies? I started on the bedroom already, so I’ll finish that up.” He blushed a little, which didn’t make any sense to Jughead.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Jughead said, grabbing a box and the packing tape. 

“Thanks, I owe you pizza after this one,” Archie said, resting his hand on Jughead’s back for a split second before he headed to the bedroom. Jughead resolutely turned toward the bookshelf so he wouldn’t be tempted to follow.

It took way longer than they’d expected it to, of course, but finally they loaded up the truck. “How’re ya doing?” Archie asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“I’m ok, but I think I was promised pizza,” Jughead said and Archie laughed.

“Right, on it,” he said, stretching his arm around Jughead’s headrest so he could look over his shoulder.

They drove to Joe’s Pizza out of habit, but of course it was closed. So Archie drove over to the new shopping center that had popped up since Jughead left for grad school. 

They walked into That’s Amore and Jughead’s cheeks burned as they walked in during a Frank Sinatra song. Since when was he such a sap?

Archie’s brow furrowed as he looked at the menu. “What was that one pizza you got last time? It was really good.”

“The Dean Martin,” Jughead said, pointing.

“Wow,” Archie said, eyebrows raised.

“They love a theme almost as much as Veronica,” Jughead said, deadpan. Archie smirked, but then the waitress walked up so he switched to his patented “don’t look at us,  _ we  _ aren’t making fun of you/ about to cause mayhem” face and Jughead smiled to himself. Archie was still Archie. Thank God.

There was a 20 minute wait for their order, so Archie nudged Jughead’s arm. “I think there’s a new bookstore down the street, you wanna check it out?”

“Uh, yes,” Jughead said, so they headed over and they promptly lost each other in the maze of bookshelves. Jughead finally found Archie flipping through the records. 

“Hey look, remember my Modest Mouse phase?” Archie said, holding up a record with a green cover.

“Oh yeah, you played that on like every road trip,” Jughead said, smiling at the memory.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you wanted to break the CD,” Archie said, grinning.

Jughead did his best to look innocent. “I have  _ no  _ idea what you’re talking about.” 

Archie raised his eyebrows. “Not buying that for a second,” he laughed. He put the record back, but Jughead snagged it and managed to buy it and smuggle it to the truck without Archie noticing.

They picked up the pizzas and headed to Archie's dad's house. Archie climbed out of the truck, glanced at the boxes and bags in the bed of the truck and said, “Yeah, not happening.”

Jughead laughed and jogged up the steps after him. 

They did eventually unload the truck, but Archie just shoved the boxes in his closet. “There's not really a point, since I'll be moving back in a few months.” 

The next morning they skipped breakfast so they could sign Fred out of the hospital as soon as possible. 

He was sitting up in bed while Bethany took his IV out, and he grinned when they walked in. “Hey, boys! Archie, did you bring some real clothes?”

Archie held up a backpack with a grin. “Yep, real pants and everything.”

“Yes!” Fred said, and the second Bethany had taped up his arm he swung his legs out of bed dramatically. “I'm goin’ in slow motion, but I'm going!” he said with a grin as he took the bag from Archie and headed to the bathroom.

“Dad, do you need help?” Archie asked.

“Nope!” Fred said firmly as the door swung closed. 

Archie rolled his eyes. “It's like corralling a toddler.”

Jughead smirked. “Do you ever wonder if he's getting revenge for all the stunts we pulled?”

“Yes!” Fred yelled from behind the door and the boys burst out laughing.

They drove over to Sylvia's for breakfast, and Fred closed his eyes as he took a bite of his breakfast sandwich. 

“Does it make up for all the hospital food?” Jughead asked.

“Almost,” he said. “But I think a Pop's burger will do the trick.”

“Well that's good, cause Jenny wanted me to tell you she expected to see you back there the second you're better,” Archie said.

“I guess that means we're getting burgers for dinner,” Fred said, winking as he took a sip of coffee.

They'd only been home for a few minutes when there was a knock on the door. Archie ran to get it, and Jughead heard Alice Cooper's voice. “Here we go,” Fred said, popping up the foot rest of the recliner. “She's not getting me out of this chair.”

Alice and Betty walked in, with Archie trailing behind them. 

“Hi Fred, how're you feeling?” Alice said, her voice too sweet. 

“I'm hanging in there,” Fred said.

“Betty said you were coming home today, so we wanted to bring you some muffins.” Betty held up the basket of muffins, and gave Jughead a look.

“Oh, and by the way,” Alice said casually, as if she had just remembered something. “We're having an engagement party for Betty and Veronica on the 26th, so we'd love for you all to come.” Her eyes flicked from Archie to Jughead and it took all of Jughead's self control not to roll his eyes.

“Of course we'll be there,” Fred said. “It'll give me a chance to tell you two congratulations properly.”

Betty smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Andrews.”

Alice walked over to ask Fred intrusive questions about his surgery, and Betty put her hand on Jughead's arm. “Sorry my mom is… my mom,” she whispered. “But Veronica and I really are hoping you'll come.”

Jughead looked down at her and couldn't help but soften when he saw the earnest, worried look on her face. “Anything for you, Betty, you know that.”

Betty beamed and wrapped her arm around Jughead's waist. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Archie put his hand on Betty's shoulder. “Count me in too, Bets,” he said softly. “Now I need to save my dad.”

Betty bit her lip as Archie asked Alice about Polly and the twins to distract her and Jughead nudged her arm. “Hey, it's progress. We've gone from outright hostility to vague disapproval.”

Betty smiled. “That's true. Now that I'm getting married I think she's finally forgiven you for breaking up with me.”

“It was mutual!” Jughead protested. “It's not like I dumped you on your birthday!”

Betty laughed. “I know, I was there. But you know… it's my mom.”

“Yeah.” Jughead grinned. “She hated me when we were dating, she hated me when we broke up… It’d be a shame to end the tradition.”

Betty’s lips twitched upward despite herself. Suddenly Alice looked up, “Oh Betty, we should go, we don’t want to disturb Fred’s rest.” Fred’s eyebrows rose and Archie struggled to keep a straight face. 

“Ok, Mom,” Betty said, amused, and passed the basket of muffins to Jughead. “See you at the party!” 

“See you!” Fred said, waving from the couch, and Archie followed them out of the room so he could shut the door behind them. He came back in and raised his eyebrows. 

“Well that’ll be fun,” he said, and Jughead laughed.

“I can’t wait,” he said. 

Jughead drove to Pops in his car so he could run by the grocery store on the way home to pick up some things before everything closed for Christmas. He got a rotisserie chicken, some tortillas, avocados, bell peppers, serranos and canned tomatoes. 

Archie’s eyebrows rose when he saw Jughead carry it in. “What’s that gonna turn into?” he asked.

“You’ll see,” Jughead said with a wink. “It’s a surprise.”

“Should I be scared?” Archie teased.

Jughead lugged the bag of cold things over to the fridge. “Have I ever steered you wrong?” he asked.

“Only a million times,” Archie laughed, and Jughead’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Well, this time it’ll be good, I promise,” Jughead said.

“Mmmk,” Archie said, leaning against the kitchen counter with a smirk, and Jughead was hit with the maddening urge to kiss him. He just rolled his eyes at Archie and put away the avocados and limes. One of these days Archie was going to be the death of him.

They spent most of Christmas Eve picking out a Christmas tree and wrestling it on top of Archie’s pick up truck, and then dragging it into the living room. Archie and Jughead strung the lights and hung the ornaments, while Fred “art directed” from the couch. 

Jughead woke up in the morning and could hardly believe it was Christmas. He walked downstairs and smiled when he saw Archie and Fred flipping through the Christmas DVDs for their annual movie marathon. After his Mom left, he’d spent most Christmases with them, and he’d always missed it when he couldn’t make it back home from school. 

Archie looked up and smiled when he saw Jughead standing in the doorway. “Whaddya think”” he asked, holding up Die Hard and Home Alone. 

“Home Alone, then Die Hard,” Jughead said, collapsing onto the couch next to Fred.

“Done and done,” Archie said, popping the Home Alone DVD out of its case and into the DVD player.

A few hours later, Jughead ducked into the kitchen during It’s a Wonderful Life to make dinner. He called Jellybean while he made the Christmas enchiladas - she'd gone to her roommate's house in Colorado for Christmas, and she told him about her first skiing attempt while he made the sauce, stuffed the enchiladas, and spooned the red and green sauces on.

He sprinkled on the cheese, and popped them in the oven and made it back to the living room just in time to see Clarence get his wings. 

Archie was putting Elf on when Jughead’s phone alarm went off, so he went to check on the enchiladas. The cheese on top was brown, so he pulled them out and called, “Dinner’s ready!” 

Fred and Archie walked in. “Christmas enchiladas!” Jughead said, and Archie grinned. 

“They smell amazing, Jughead,” Fred said, dishing out enchiladas for everyone. 

They went back to the living room and devoured the enchiladas while Buddy ran amuck in New York. “Damn, Juggie, these are amazing!” Archie said with his mouth full.

“Thanks,” Jughead said. “Phillip’s from Austin, so he made his Grandma’s Christmas enchiladas when we were stuck at school over break and I got hooked.” 

“Hell, I’m hooked,” Fred said, and Jughead beamed. 

After dinner they all traded presents and made a big show of shaking them and trying to guess what was inside before ripping into them simultaneously. Jughead pulled back the paper on his gift from Archie and his jaw dropped.

“Oh my God,” he said, holding the book up. “I loved The Outsiders!”

“I know,” Archie said, smiling softly. “You used to check it out at the school library all the time. I saw it at the bookstore the other day and knew I had to get it.”

“Thanks,” Jughead said, shocked and touched that Archie remembered that. 

Archie nudged Jughead’s knee. “It looks like we were both shopping at the bookstore the other day.” He held up the record. “Thanks, Juggie,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” he said, “I don’t know how we managed to buy this without the other one seeing.” 

“Both oblivious I guess,” Archie said with a grin.

“Absolutely,” Fred said with a wink as he put on the new Giants baseball hat from Jughead, and they all laughed.

The next day, at the Cooper's house, Jughead was realizing it was much harder to avoid Betty's mom  _  and _ all the annoying people from high school when they were all at the same party.

Luckily Archie was there to act as a buffer, but the second he went to the bathroom Reggie came up and started  _ apologizing  _ for being awful in school. Jughead was touched, but didn't really know how to make “I'm glad you've gotten some self awareness about what a massive dick you used to be,” sound nice. 

He'd gotten as far as “Thanks, man, I appreciate it…” when Archie came back. 

“Hey, Reggie, how're you?” he said, throwing his arm around his shoulders. They talked for a few minutes and then Reggie went to get another drink.

“You ok?” Archie asked Jughead quietly.

“Yeah, he actually wanted to apologize,” Jughead said.

Archie's eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

“I know,” Jughead said. “It must be a Christmas miracle.”

Archie laughed, and then they looked over at Cheryl giving Veronica and Betty huge hugs. “Make that two Christmas miracles.”

Later Archie got sucked into a conversation about the Pussycats with Sierra McCoy, so Jughead ducked into the kitchen to throw away his paper plate. Kevin looked up from digging around in one of the drawers and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Jughead. “I thought you were Mrs. Cooper,” he said. “Don’t tell her, I'm breaking into one of the wine bottles.”

“Your secret’s safe with me,” Jughead said with a grin.

“Thanks,” Kevin said, winking. He finally found a bottle opener and pulled out the cork. “Her sangria is  _ not  _ strong enough to deal with impromptu high school reunions.”

He poured himself a glass and offered one to Jughead, who shook his head. “I'm good, thanks.”

“Oh, right, I forgot,” Kevin said. He leaned against the counter. “So, how's grad school?”

“Pretty good,” Jughead said. “How about you, still liking California?”

“Yeah. I'm thinking about moving back to New York City though.” Kevin fidgeted with his glass for a second. “How's Phillip?”

“Good,” Jughead said with a grin. “You should tell us next time you fly into Syracuse, we can all meet up again.”

“Oh really?” Kevin asked, brightening. “He remembers me?”

“Yeah, he thought you were funny.” Kevin groaned. “What's wrong with that?”

“Because the only thing worse than your Michael B. Jordan look alike roommate saying I'm  _ funny  _ would be saying I'm  _ adorable _ .”

Jughead took a sip of his soda. “I think his exact words were 'cute and funny.’”

“He said that?” Kevin said. 

“Mhmm,” Jughead said, amused.

“Huh,” Kevin said, tapping the glass thoughtfully. “I'm flying out on Tuesday, can I see y'all then?”

“I'll still be here, but you should text him,” Jughead said. 

“Maybe I will.” Kevin raised an eyebrow. “I can't believe  _ you're  _ playing matchmaker, Jones.”

“Me either,” Jughead laughed. 

Kevin took a sip of wine. “If I didn't know about that thing you and Archie have going on I'd say  _ you  _ were crazy not to ask him out.”

“What thing with me and Jughead?”

Jughead spun around and saw Archie, Betty, and Veronica standing in the doorway holding empty pitchers of sangria. Archie looked confused, but Betty and Veronica were starting at Jughead like deer in the headlights. 

“Uhhhh,” Kevin said eloquently.

“Hey Kevin, can you help me with the cheese plate?” Betty asked.

“But we came in for more wine,” Archie said, bewildered. 

“Cheese plate first,” Veronica said, grabbing Kevin's arm and dragging him behind her so fast he almost spilled his wine. 

Archie looked over at Jughead. “I missed something.”

Jughead could barely hear him over the Kill Bill sirens going off in his head. He was going to  _ kill  _ Kevin.

Jughead took a deep breath.  _ I guess this is happening now. _ “Kevin was just giving me a hard time about a one-sided crush.”

“What?” Archie croaked, looking panicked.

Jughead groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I've been in love with you since we were kids, and I know you don't feel the same way, and that's fine…”

Archie stared at him. “But I do.”

Jughead frowned, confused. “You do what?”

“I do feel the same way.”

Jughead stared, sure he must have heard wrong. “You… what?”

Archie stepped forward, looking up at Jughead. “I love you, Juggie. I've loved you since high school.”

Jughead's mind was spinning. “I… I can't believe it.”

Archie reached up with his left hand, tracing Jughead's jaw, his bottom lip. “Me either.” He smiled, impossibly tender. “Are we the dumbest people in Riverdale?”

Jughead smiled. “I think so.”

He could count the copper flecks in Archie's eyes. He cradled Archie's face with his hand and leaned down to kiss him.

Archie sighed, wrapping his arms around Jughead's waist, pulling him closer. Jughead felt an overwhelming thrill of longing run through him. He deepened the kiss, running his fingers through the hair at the nape of Archie’s neck. 

Archie leaned back against the kitchen counter, pulling Jughead against him, and they were impossibly close. Jughead gasped and Archie smiled into the kiss. 

Suddenly Betty shouted from the other room, “It's ok, Mom, I'll get the wine, I just got distracted.”

Jughead and Archie broke apart just as Alice and Hermione walked into the kitchen. “Betty, it's fine, I'll just get it,” Alice said over her shoulder, stopping short when she saw Jughead and Archie’s flushed, embarrassed faces.

She smiled like the cat that caught the canary. “Hello, boys.” 

Betty leaned into the kitchen, mouthing “I'm sorry,” behind her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Come on, Alice, Fred was  _ just  _ in the hospital, let's not give Archie a heart attack.”

She picked up the wine and the bottle opener. “Have fun, boys,” she said with a wink as she walked out with Alice, high heels clicking on the tiled floor.

Jughead and Archie looked at each other and laughed nervously. Betty slipped in behind her mom.

“Sorry!” Betty said. “I tried to stop them, but it didn’t work.”

“It’s ok,” Archie said. “Thanks for the warning, at least.”

“No problem.” Betty looked up at them, grinning smugly. “So… how’re things?”

Archie rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright, you were right…”

“YES!” Betty cheered, and Veronica and Kevin poked their heads in.

“Is that the signal that it’s safe to come in?” Veronica asked.

Archie laughed. “I guess.” Veronica was grinning like the Cheshire cat, while Kevin looked sheepish.

“Sorry,” he whispered to Jughead. 

“It’s ok,” Jughead said. “But now if you don’t text Phillip, I’m stealing your phone and doing it for you.”

“Ok, I deserve that,” Kevin said, and they all laughed.

After the party Fred went to watch the game at his friend David’s house, so Jughead and Archie walked back to the house alone. Archie shut the door, and looked over at Jughead.

Jughead was drawn to him, and it felt inevitable, like gravity, like fate. Archie threw an arm around his neck and pulled him close, and kissed him desperately. Jughead’s hands ran from Archie’s chest, to his waist, pulling him closer. 

Archie paused, pulling back to look up at Jughead. “Is this ok? I don’t want to rush you…”

Jughead smiled softly. “Archie, I’ve been pining over you for years, I think you’re ok.”

Archie’s lips twitched upward. “Fair enough. In that case...” His hand slipped down and stroked Jughead’s cock over his jeans, and Jughead swore under his breath.

“Fuck, Archie…”

“You wanna go upstairs?” Archie asked, voice low.

“Yes,” Jughead breathed. 

They raced up the stairs and into Archie’s room. Jughead tugged on the hem of Archie’s shirt, and Archie held his arms above his head so Jughead could pull it off. In high school he’d been all sharp angles, but now his shoulders were broader, the lines softer, and Jughead couldn’t keep his hands off of him. 

Archie reached for Jughead’s shirt, and Jughead went to take off his glasses.

“Umm, could you keep the glasses on?” Archie asked. “The Clark Kent vibe kinda does it for me.”

Jughead smiled. “I thought everyone was into Superman.”

Archie scoffed. “Not me. Give me the nerdy journalist with a highly developed sense of ethics any day.”

Jughead melted. He kissed Archie softly, and when Archie went to pull off his shirt he took off his glasses just for a second. “Just so they don't fly off and break,” he said.

“That'd be bad,” Archie whispered, kissing him as he ran his hands down Jughead’s bare chest, down to his belt. They fumblingly got each other out of their pants, and Jughead took Archie’s hand, pulling him toward the bed. 

Archie leaned over him, kissing him hungrily, hands skimming down Jughead’s sides, hooking into the waistband of his boxers.

“God, Archie, I want you so bad,” he moaned, and Archie smiled. 

“What do you want?” he asked, kissing Jughead’s throat as his hand traced up Jughead’s inner thigh.

“I wanna ride your cock,” Jughead whispered, gasping when Archie slipped his boxers down and wrapped his hand around his dick.  “I wanna make you moan my name as you cum.”

“Shit,” Archie said, his voice ragged.

“Archie,” Jughead pleaded.

“Hold on,” Archie said. “I brought some lube and other stuff from my place.” He leaned over and rummaged in his bedside table.

Jughead propped himself up on his elbows. “Stuff?”

“Ya know, condoms and... toys,” Archie said, cheeks turning faintly pink.

“Sex toys?” Jughead asked.

“Yeah,” Archie said. He was definitely blushing now. 

Jughead suddenly was imagining Archie lying naked in bed, eyes closed, moaning. “Juggie, you ok? You got quiet on me.”

“Sorry, I just got a little hot and bothered,” Jughead said, blushing. 

Archie smiled wickedly. “Oh yeah?” He kissed Jughead slowly, until Jughead was moaning and clutching the sheets. 

“ _ Archie, _ ” Jughead whispered. 

Archie leaned back and bit his lip. “Jughead, could you…”

“What?”

Archie ran his fingers through his hair. “Could you help me with one of the toys?

Jughead kissed him softly. “Yeah.” 

Archie leaned over and pulled out a small glass toy and handed it to Jughead before laying down on his back. Jughead took the lube and got the toy ready.

He leaned down and kissed Archie. “Let me know if it's uncomfortable or anything.”

“It'll be fine, just go slow,” Archie said, biting his lip. 

Jughead slowly slid it in, while he stroked Archie's cock. Archie closed his eyes and moaned, “ _ Juggie _ .”

“Is this ok?” Jughead asked. 

“Yeah,” Archie said. He looked up at Jughead and whispered, “Am I doing good?”

Jughead smiled and kissed him. “You're doing so great for me.” Archie sighed, a smile playing on his lips, and Jughead couldn't believe he was so lucky. 

A few minutes later Jughead said, “It's in, you're all good.”

Archie propped himself up on his elbows and kissed Jughead gently. “I love you, Juggie.”

Jughead melted. “I love you too.”

Archie cupped Jughead's face and kissed him and then guided him down to the bed. “You still want to…”

“Yeah,” Jughead said breathlessly. 

Archie took the lube and spread it on his fingers. He kissed Jughead gently as he slid a finger inside. Jughead threw his head back. “Oh my God, Archie.”

Archie kissed down his throat, down his chest, while Jughead ran his fingers through his hair. Archie's lips brushed against Jughead's dick and Jughead groaned, “Fuck.”

Archie looked up at him adoringly. “You're doing so great for me, Juggie, I wanna watch you ride my cock, I wanna make you cum…”

“Archie,” Jughead begged, “Please, I need you.”

Archie flipped over onto his back. Jughead grabbed one of the condoms and unwrapped it, slipping it onto Archie's cock. He took the lube and slicked up Archie's cock until he moaned, “God, Jughead, please.”

Jughead finally took off his glasses, setting them on the bedside table, and mounted him, slowly sliding onto his cock. “Shit,” he moaned, closing his eyes.

Archie's chest heaved. “Juggie, oh my God.” His hands braced Jughead's thighs, and Jughead rode him, slowly at first, then gradually picking up speed. 

“Jughead,” Archie whispered. “You're gonna make me cum…” His hips bucked against Jughead and his head lolled back as he moaned Jughead's name. 

“Archie,” Jughead whispered, “your cock feels so good, I'm gonna…”

Archie reached up and stroked Jughead's dick slowly, and that was it for Jughead. His thighs clenched against Archie's side and he came, painting across Archie's chest. 

He collapsed onto the bed next to Archie, and they laid next to each other, panting. Jughead grabbed his shirt and cleaned up Archie's chest, and Archie sighed and took off the condom and the toy.

He stood up. “I'll be right back.” 

Jughead dozed off until Archie crawled into bed next to him. “How're you?” he mumbled.

Archie kissed his temple. “Good. How're you?”

“Good,” Jughead said, turning to kiss him. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Archie whispered. He wrapped his arm around Jughead's stomach, pulling him close. Jughead sighed, letting himself relax against Archie's chest. 

Archie nuzzled into Jughead's neck, and he sighed. “I'm glad you're home, Juggie,” Archie whispered 

“Me too,” Jughead whispered, as he slowly drifted off. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays! I hope you had a good holiday if you celebrate! I was hoping to finish this before Christmas, but I didn't quite pull it off in time. Better late than never, right?
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, I appreciate it SO much! I hope you enjoy!


	4. Kiss Me Like You Miss Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 2 years later...

Archie paced around the apartment, running through his mental checklist.  _ Clean sheets on the bed, bathroom clean, laundry done, kitchen clean. _ Now all he had to do was wait.

He tried to work on a song he’d been stuck on, but that was no good, so he turned on a football game and tried to pay attention, until he heard the key in the lock. 

Jughead walked in, looking tired, but he beamed when he saw Archie on the couch. “Hey,” he said, dropping his duffle bag and backpack by the door and shrugging out of his coat. 

Archie stood up and put his hands on Jughead's hips, kissing him gently. “How was your trip?”

“Good,” Jughead said. “There's definitely something weird going on with the congressman's PAC, and they won't respond to my FOIA requests, so I'm gonna have to do some digging on my own…” Jughead paused, and smiled sheepishly. “Also I missed you?”

Archie grinned. “I missed you too.” 

Jughead leaned down and kissed him hungrily. “I was thinking about taking a shower.”

“Ok,” Archie said, and then Jughead raised his eyebrows. “Oh, you meant with me?”

“Yes, Archie, with you,” Jughead laughed, grabbing his hand and dragging him down the hall. 

Jughead peeled his shirt off and turned the water on. Archie came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing the back of his neck. 

He tried to undo Jughead's belt, but it was too hard to do from behind. Jughead laughed, spinning around. “Let me help you with that,” he said, voice low, and Archie shuddered as Jughead’s hands brushed his hips, unbuckled his belt. He finally managed to undo Jughead’s belt and slid his pants down. 

They both stepped out of their jeans, and Jughead reached into the shower to check the water temperature while Archie pulled his shirt off.

“The water’s hot,” Jughead said, pulling Archie close so he could slide his boxers off. 

Archie shivered, suddenly cold, and he said, “Juggie come on, I’m freezing.”

Jughead grinned and dropped his boxers, grabbing Archie’s hands and pulling him into the shower. 

Jughead stood under the stream of water, letting the water run down his shoulders, tilting his head back. Archie stepped closer, running his hands down Jughead’s back, cupping his ass. 

Jughead moaned softly, cupping Archie’s face with his hands. “God, I missed you,” he whispered, kissing Archie until he was gasping for breath. Then Jughead left featherlight kisses down Archie’s throat, his chest, kneeling in front of him and kissing along his hip bone. 

Archie groaned, and Jughead shot a mischievous glance up at him before wrapping his lips around Archie’s cock. “Shouldn’t I be blowing you since you were out of town?” he asked breathlessly.

Jughead hummed, pulling back, and Archie immediately missed his lips. “I’ve been fantasizing about this the whole drive home,” he murmured before taking Archie’s cock in his mouth again.

Archie huffed a laugh. “Well, in that case…” Jughead rolled his eyes, swirling his tongue around Archie’s cock, and he groaned and braced himself against the shower wall. 

He ran his fingers through Jughead’s hair with his other hand, holding his head in place. Jughead’s tongue flicked the slit and Archie shuddered. 

Jughead pulled back, started running his hand up and down Archie’s cock. “Did you miss me?” he asked, his voice low, and Archie nodded. 

“Yeah,” he gasped. “I missed you real bad.”

Jughead smiled as his hand sped up mercilessly. Achie leaned his head back against the tile. “ _ Jughead _ ,” he pleaded, and then Jughead’s lips were on his cock again, his fingers digging into Archie’s thigh as he took his dick deeper and deeper. “Fuck,” Archie whispered, and then he came. 

He leaned against the shower wall, panting, and Jughead stood up and put his hand against the wall while he stretched his knee. “Was that good?” he whispered, kissing Archie’s temple.

“Yeah,” Archie said, still slightly breathless.

“Good, cause I forgot how much that fucking hurts my knees,” Jughead joked, and Archie laughed. 

“Let me make it up to you,” he said, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair again. Jughead sighed and Archie kissed him and pulled him closer.

“Archie,” Jughead whispered.

“Hmmm?” Archie asked, gently massaging Jughead’s balls. 

“God,” Jughead groaned, leaning his forehead against Archie’s. 

Archie kissed him quickly, then turned so Jughead’s shoulders were against the wall.

He knelt down and Jughead inhaled deeply as he licked along the shaft, taking a moment to flick the head with his tongue 

Jughead’s eyelids fluttered and he bit his lip. “Goddamn, Arch.” 

Archie reached up and kneaded his ass with his fingers. Jughead’s back arched and he gasped. Archie swirled his tongue faster and faster until Jughead clutched at Archie’s shoulders.

“Archie, I’m,” he gasped, and at the last second Archie pulled back, letting Jughead come all over his chest and throat. 

Jughead looked down at him. “Shit,” he whispered, blushing and biting his lip. “Let me help you clean up.”

He took Archie’s hand and pulled him to his feet, guiding him under the stream of water. He grabbed a loofah and got it soaped up. They kissed lazily as Jughead got Archie all sudsed up, and then Archie rinsed off and grabbed Jughead’s loofah and soaped him up. Jughead ducked his head under the water, running his fingers through his hair. 

After they’d rinsed off, Archie switched the water off and pulled the shower curtain open. He grabbed a towel, wrapping Jughead up in it and rubbing him down gently. Jughead smiled sleepily. “Thanks, Arch,” he whispered. 

Archie smiled up at him, kissed him softly. “You’re welcome,” he said. He grabbed his own towel and dried off quickly. “Let’s get dressed and I’ll order pizza.”

“You can get dressed,” Jughead teased. “If you think I’m putting on real pants you’re crazy.”

Archie laughed. “Guess I’ll be answering the door for the pizza guy then.” 

Jughead smirked. “Definitely.”

Archie slipped into sweats and a t-shirt, while Jughead put on a pair of boxers and an undershirt. They turned on the episode of Top Chef they’d missed and cuddled on the couch until the doorbell rang. Archie ran to the door, bringing back the pizza. 

They ate and Jughead wrapped his arms around Archie’s torso, nuzzling against his chest. Archie traced up and down his back absentmindedly, feeling slightly jittery.

He woke up the next morning and watched the sunlight flicker across the ceiling for a few minutes before he rolled out of bed.

Jughead looked up, hair sticking up everywhere. “What time is it?” he asked groggily. 

Archie leaned across the bed, kissed Jughead softly. “It’s only 9, you can go back to sleep. I was just going to make coffee.”

“Mmmk,” Jughead mumbled, flopping back onto the pillow. Archie kissed his cheek and left, with one last glance before he closed the bedroom door.

He walked into the kitchen and got the coffee going. While it gurgled happily, Archie beat a few eggs with some milk and masala chai spice mix. He dipped some bread in the egg mixture and fried up the french toast. He put the finished toast in the oven to keep warm while he flipped through the newspaper. When he got to the crossword puzzle, he filled out 4 words. 

He poured the coffee, put the french toast on plates, and put them all on a tray he’d borrowed from his dad’s house.

He nudged the door open with his foot. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said. Jughead rolled over, blinking in the morning light. 

“Please tell me you have coffee,” he moaned, and Archie smiled.

“Course I do,” he said. 

Jughead sat up, and his eyes widened when he saw the tray. “Breakfast too?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Archie said, “I was feeling nostalgic.”

He handed the tray to Jughead so he could sit on the bed next to him. Jughead took a bite and hummed happily. “This is so good,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Archie said, pleased. “I learned from the best.” Jughead smiled and kissed him, and it tasted like cinnamon and maple syrup.

They finished breakfast and Jughead drank the last sip of his coffee as he flipped through the paper to the crossword, like he always did, and Archie’s breath caught in his throat.  

“Hey, you started without me,” Jughead teased, and then he took a closer look at the answers. His jaw dropped, and he looked up at Archie, who had pulled a gold ring out of his pocket.

Jughead stared at Archie blankly. “W-what?”

Archie cleared his throat, suddenly very aware that his hands were shaking. “I love you so much, Juggie. I loved you when we were stupid high school kids, and I'll love you when you're a cranky old man. I waited so long to tell you, but I'm not gonna make that mistake twice. So, Jughead Jones, will you --”

“Yes!” Jughead blurted out. “Of course I will, yes!”

Archie’s heart felt like it was going to burst. He leaned in and kissed Jughead, marveling that he got to be with him forever. 

“Sorry I interrupted you, you were proposing right?” Jughead murmured and Archie leaned back and laughed.

“Yes, I was, Einstein,” he teased. “What'd you think the ring was for?”

“I don't know, for a second I thought 'What if this is some Jim and Pam fake proposal scenario and I said yes?’” Jughead said, holding his hand out so Archie could slide the ring onto his finger. 

“I would  _ never  _ do that, that's such a dick move!” Archie said indignantly. 

Jughead smiled fondly. “I know. But you ruined my crossword, so I was like do I even know him anymore??”

“It's not ruined,” Archie said. “Those are the answers.” Jughead grabbed the paper, peering closer this time, and Archie continued, “The editor said that 'last will and testament’ was too obvious, but I thought 'bayou’ was pretty good --”

But then Jughead's lips were on his, and he sighed. “Do we have anything planned for today?” 

Archie shrugged nonchalantly. “I was thinking dinner later, but other than that…”

Jughead smiled, bright and mischievous. “Well that's good, cause I was thinking I wanted to spend the day in bed with my  _ fiance _ .”

Archie grinned. “I like the sound of that.”

“Good,” Jughead murmured, pulling Archie down with him. 

Archie laughed, hooking his leg over Jughead's to pull him even closer. “I love you,” he whispered, running his thumb along Jughead's cheekbone. 

“I love you too,” he whispered back, earnest and soft. “You know that, right?” Archie melted into him. 

“Yeah, I do,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss him.

A few hours later they pulled into Pop’s. Jughead frowned. “The parking lot’s pretty empty today.”

“Huh, that’s weird,” Archie said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “You hungry?”

Jughead shot him an amused look. “Always.” 

Archie grabbed his hand as they walked across the parking lot, trying to keep him from paying attention to the cars that were parked outside the shop. 

He held the door open for Jughead, who squinted up at the streamers crisscrossing the ceiling. “What the --” 

Just then Betty and Veronica turned and grinned from their usual booth. “Oh my God,” Jughead said, walking over and giving them a hug. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Philip said, eyebrows raised. Jughead stared.

“Holy shit, you came?” 

“Yeah,” Kevin said, leaning against Philip. “I helped you two get together, you helped us get together, so we’ve come full circle, really.”

“Seriously, Jughead, did you think we weren’t gonna come up to celebrate Archie finally putting a ring on it?” Betty asked, eyebrow raised.

Jughead laughed, and then he saw Fred. “Congratulations,” Fred said, pulling him in for a hug. 

“Thanks, Fred,” Jughead said, blushing a little.

Fred clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t lose my Dad’s ring, now.”

Jughead stared at Archie. “It’s your grandpa’s?”

“Yeah, he wanted you to have it,” Fred said gently. “It’s slim pickings in our family, most of our wedding rings have bad luck.”

Jughead wrapped his arm around Archie’s waist. “You did all this?”

“Yeah,” Archie said. “Is it ok?”

Jughead grinned. “It’s great,” he said, kissing Archie softly. 

The girls whooped and Jughead and Archie both blushed, just as Jenny walked up with a tray of milkshakes. “I heard y’all were celebrating,” she said with a wink, passing them out. “This round’s on the house.”

Archie caught Jughead’s eye and beamed softly. Jughead smiled back and squeezed his hand. 

“Ouch,” Archie said. 

“Sorry,” Jughead said. ”Not used to having a ring on.”

“It’s ok, we have time,” Archie murmured, leaning his head on Jughead’s shoulder.

Jughead threw his arm over Archie’s shoulders. “Looking forward to it,” he whispered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!! This was supposed to be 100% fluff but apparently I can't write a proposal scene without jokes! XD

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Archie has a lot going on, and Jughead is in MAJOR denial about his feelings. 
> 
> And don't worry about Fred, I promise everything will be ok! I feel bad enough sending him to the hospital right before Christmas. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoy! <3


End file.
